Vertical geared motor



March 28, 1939- w. P. SCHMITTER ET AL 0 VERTICAL -GEARED MOTOR FiledSept. 20, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY March 28, 1939. w. P. SCHMITTERET AL 2,152

VERTICAL GEARED MOTOR Filed'Sept. 20, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 BY P0091;1/727? ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 28, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEVERTICAL GEARED MOTOR consin Application September 20, 1934, Serial No.744,772

2 Claims.

This invention relates to vertical type geared electric motors.

An object of the present invention is to improve the construction andoperation of devices of the type mentioned.

More specific objects and advantages will appear from the followingdescription of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of avertical geared motor constructed in accordance with the presentinvention. The sectional portion of this view is taken along the brokenline ll of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view along the line 33 of Figs. 1 and 2.

The geared motor shown comprises a gear housing having a hollow circularbase section l0, constituting a lubricant reservoir, and a hollowcircular upper section II separably mounted on the base section with theperipheral flange l2 of a spider l3 interposed therebetween. Thesections are releasably joined by appropriate means such as a pluralityof screws, one of which is shown at M, which extend upwardly through thebase section and into the thickened bottom rim l5 of the upper section.

The spider I3 is provided with an upright portion I6 which extendsthroughout the major portion of its periphery and which is closelyfitted within the rim l5 of the upper portion to accurately position thesame concentrically thereof.

The spider I3 is also provided with a circular shoulder H which isclosely fitted within a groove l8 formed in the top flange IQ of thebase section to effect an accurate centering of the spider and basesection. The upper and lower housing sections are thus accuratelycentered and aligned.

The base section I0 is provided with a depressed peripheral mountingflange 20 having a plurality of bolt receiving lugs 2|. tion and spiderI3 together constitute a rigid support for a speed reduction gear setcontained in the housing, while the upper section I I merely serves toenclose the gears and to support the driving motor 22, the upper sectionhaving a top wall 23 which separates the motor from the gears.

The gear set shown comprises a low speed gear 24 carried by a powertake-ofi shaft 25 which projects downwardly through the center of thebase section l 0. Shaft 25 is journalled in a lower anti-frictionbearing 26, mounted in the bottom of the base section, and an upperanti-friction bearing 21 mounted in the center of the spider l3.

The base sec- The gear 24 meshes with a pinion 28 carried by acounter-shaft 29. The counter-shaft is journalled at its lower end in ananti-friction bearing 30, mounted in a hollow boss 3| formed in the basesection, and an anti-friction bearing 32, mounted in the spider l3,supports the upper end of the counter-shaft. A gear 33, fixed to theprojecting upper end of the counter-shaft, meshes with and is driven bya pinion 34, fixed to and carried-by the lower end of the rotor shaft 35of the motor'22.

The motor shaft 35 is aligned with the shaft 25. It is supported at itsupper end in the usual manner in the upper end head 36 of the motor andat its lower end it is journalled in an antifriction bearing 31, mountedin a cartridge 38 which ;is removably fixed in .a hollow boss 39 formedcentrally of the top housing wall 23. The bearing 3'I is arrangedadjacent the pinion 34 so as to directly sustain the radial load imposedthereon and so as to receive an ample supply of lubricant splashedthereon fromfthe interior of the housing. I

A remarkably efiective lubricant seal 40 is mounted upon the motorshaftjgiii immediately above the bearing 31. It comprises a sleeve fixedto rotate with the shaft and having three spaced circular flanges 4ithereon having oppositely inclined spiral grooves 42 formed on theirperipheries which coact with circular lands 43 on the interior of thecartridge to discourage the upward passage of lubricant therebetween. Afelt ring 44, seated in a channel in the uppermost flanges, contacts theinterior of the cartridge to form a vapor-proof seal. a

The motor 22 is of standard construction, unmodified except for slightchanges to accommodate its shaft to the pinion 34, bearing 31, and seal40, and except that its usual lower end head has been removed toaccommodate an adapter ring 45 through which it is fitted to the gearhousing. In this instance the adapter ring 45 is seated upon anupstanding flange 46 formed on the upper housing section I l and isprovided with a depending portion 41 reduced to enter and snugly fitwithin the flange 46. The adapter is releasably secured to the flange 46by appropriate means such as a plurality of screws, one of which isshown at 43. The adapter is also provided with an upstanding circularshoulder 43 closely fitted within a groove 53 ordinarily pro vided inthe stator frame of the motor. The

adapter is thus interlocked with. the housing flange 46 and the motor toaccurately center and align the latter with respect to the housing so asto assure a proper working relation between the pinion 34 and gear 33.

The adapter 45 is releasably attached to the motor by suitable means,such as screws 5|, arranged in recesses 52 formed in the adapter, andupon removing the screws 48, the motor maybe readily withdrawn, carryingwith it the adapter 45, shaft 35 and pinion 34. The motor may thus beremoved and replaced without disturbing the shafts of the gear set, andby the use of variously shaped adapters, motors of other dimensions,speeds. and types may be substituted.

It will also be noted that upon removal of the upper housing section II, the gear 34 is accessible for inspection and replacement and gears ofother sizes may be readily substituted therefor to change the gearratio. Further changes in gear ratio may be had by replacing the gear 24and pinion 28 by gears and pinions of other sizes, which may be readilyaccomplished after removing the spider 43. The shaft 25 may thus beoperated at any of a vast number of speeds by the various gear 'ratiosand motor speeds thus available.

The gears and pinions are lubricated by oil sprayed thereon from one oftwo pipes 53 or 53 supplied from a pump arranged in the base section 50.The pump shown comprises a cylindrical housing 54 fitted in a hollowboss 55 provided in the base section and seated upon a plate 56externally and removably attached to the bottom of the base section. Thepump housing is divided into upper and lower compartments by ahorizontal partition 57, each compartment housing a pair of intermeshinggears 58 or 5B which form a gear pump of a well known type. Both pairsof gears are connected for rotation in unison and are driven from avertical shaft 59 through a separable coupling St.

The pump gears 58 in the upper compartment are open to the bath of oilin the base section 60 through a port til at one side of the boss 55,and a port 62 at the other side of the boss 55 provides communicationbetween the upper compartment and the pipe 53. Similarly the pump gears58! in the lower compartment are open to.

the bath of oil through a port 6! at said other side of the boss 55, anda port 62 provides communication between the lower pump compartment andthe pipe 53'. The arrangement is such that, when the pump drive shaft 59is driven in one direction, oil entering the port 68 is forced by thegears 53 into the pipe 53; and when the shaft 59 is oppositely driven,oil entering the port ti is forced by the gears 58' into the pipe 53'. I

Pipe 53 is provided with discharge apertures 63 and 6 3 arranged todirect oil sprays into the mesh points of the gear 26 and pinion 28 andof the gear 33 and pinion 34, respectively; and pipe 53 is provided withdischarge apertures 63 and M arranged to direct oil sprays into the samemesh points but from the opposite sides thereof, as indicatedparticularly in Fig. 2. Additional discharge apertures 55 and 65' in thepipes 53 and 53 are arranged to direct similar oil sprays against atell-tale window 66 provided in the side of the housing so as to providea ready means for determining by observation whether the oil spraysystem is functioning.

The pump drive shaft 59 is journalled at its lower end in a bearing 61,seated in an appropriate bracket 88 formed'in the housing base Hi. Itextends upwardly through the spider l3 and is journalled at its upperend in a bearing 69, supported in a bracket I0 formed on the spider.

sequently the speed of the pump is wholly independent of the gear ratiobetween the motor and the countershaft 29. This is an importantadvantage in that an adequate speed and capacity of the pump is thusassured regardless of changes in gear ratio between the motor andcountershaft. In fact the pinion," is preferably the same size as thepinion 34, so that the pump speed is always equal to the motor speed.Whenever the gear 33 and pinion 34 are replaced by a gear and pinion ofother sizes, to change the gear ratio betweenthe motor and countershaft,the pinion H is also replaced by a pinion of the same size as thesubstitute pinion 36.

It will be further noted that in the arrangement shown, the pump drivingpinion H always rotates in the same direction as the pinion 34,

so that whenever the operation of the motor and gear set is reversed thepump also reverses, so that when the motor and its shaft 35 are rotatingclockwise (Fig. 2) the pump operates to force oil through the pipe 53 tospray oil into the engaging side of the mesh points of the gears andpinions, and when the motor and gears are rotating in an oppositedirection the pump forces oil through pipe 53 to spray oil into what isthen the engaging side of the mesh points of the gears and pinions.

The several shaft bearings receive an adequate supply of oil from thesprays thus formed, except the lower bearing 26 of the shaft 25. Bearing26 is purposely shielded from these sprays and from the bath of oil inthe base section ill by an upstanding surrounding sleeve which projectsupwardly fromv the bottom of the base section to a point well above thebath of oil therein and preferably to a point where its upper open endis effectively covered by the gear 2%. By this arrangement, loss of oilfrom the reservoir along the downwardly projecting shaft is avoided.

The bearing 26 is separately lubricated preferably by a light greasesupplied thereto through an appropriate passage i2, which in thisinstance extends through the side of the base section it and is equippedwith a grease gun fitting E3 of a well known type. A lubricant seal it,fixed to the shaft 25, coacts with a closer plate 75 to retain thislubricant in the bearing, the plate F5 being releasably fixed to thebottom of the base section.

Should any lubricant ultimately work its way inwardly beneath thisflange, it would have to climb out of the groove 19 against the force ofgravity before it could possibly reach the next inner flange it, andshould it reach the latter-it would again have to creep againstcentrifugal force and against the force of gravity be'fore it couldreach the shaft 25 and escapeaalon'git through the plate 75. f

It has been found in actual use that with lubricant retained in thebearing 26 .in the manner described, the hearing may be operatedcontinuously for months without requiring additional lubricant.

Various changes may be made in the embodiment of the inventionhereinabove specifically described without departing from or sacrificingthe advantages of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

' We claim: 7

1. In a geared motor comprising a vertical housing having mounting meansat the lower end thereof, a motor mounted at the top of said housing, avertical shaft projecting through the bottom of said housing, andgearing in said housing through which said shaft is driven from saidmotor, the combination of a lubricant reservoir in the bottom of saidhousing, a pump in said housing driven from said motor and supplied fromsaid reservoir, said pump having two separate impeller chambers andseparate impelling means therein alternatively effective in accordancewith the direction of operation of said motor, and separate conduitsseparately connected with said two impeller chambers respectively forlubricating said gearing.

2. In a geared motor comprising a vertical housinghaving an opening andmounting means at the lower end thereof, a motor mounted at the top ofsaid housing, a vertical shaft journalled in and projecting through saidopening, and 10 gearing in-said housing for driving said shaft from saidmotor,-the combination of a pumpenergized lubricating system within saidhousing for lubricating said gearing, and a vertical member surroundingsaid opening, said gearing 15 including a'gear on said shaft having arim surrounding and extending below the top of said ,member'to preventescape of lubricant from said system through said-member and opening.

WALTER P. SCHMI'I'IER.

RALPH WIKEN.

